This election cycle is concerning many Republicans due to a fear of the Democratic party winning seats in areas that traditionally belong to conservatives. In a time where people are becoming increasingly disappointed in the state that politics are in, grassroots campaigns of charismatic candidates are catching the attention of people who traditionally only voted down their party’s line.

According to a poll from End Citizens United, Democratic candidate Beto O’Rourke is quickly closing in on Republican candidate Ted Cruz. While the Democrats taking the traditionally Republican occupied Senate seat may not be one of the main priorities during this election cycle, it would certainly add some momentum to the Democrats’ election cycle according to End Citizens United.

End Citizens United was founded in early 2015 to try to fight the large influence that money has been having on politics. While Ted Cruz’s campaign had claimed that the Texas Senator was leading in the polls by around 18%, End Citizens United’s data showed that this margin may actually be as small by 14%. To those not aware of the long-standing political climate in Texas may not see this as a big deal, a Democrat being in the Senate seat of Texas would certainly raise some concerns to Republicans. Read more about End Citizens United at Wikipedia.

The poll by End Citizens United is not the only one that is showing that the margin between candidates Ted Cruz and Beto O’Rourke are closing. When the University of Texas released the results of their own poll in June, it showed that there were only 5 points between the 2. There are multiple reasons why voters are turning away from Ted Cruz, and one of the largest may be himself.

While many residents of Texas don’t know much about Beto O’Rourke’s views, they do know that they are not happy with current Senator Ted Cruz’s actions in office. He is seen by many as putting his own interests before those of the people in his political career. Almost half of those polled, 49%, stated that they did not view his time in office favorably while only 38% approved of him as Senator. Learn more: http://www.politifact.com/personalities/end-citizens-united/

End Citizen United is a non-profit group that stands for democracy in the United States. The organization is fundamentally a political action committee. Its primary objective is to rescind a U.S. Supreme Court verdict that was made on the matter before the court between the Citizen United and the Federal Election Commission. In the 2010 landmark ruling, the court dismissed the regulations that capped the maximum contribution that action groups or individuals can devote to the campaign or opposition to any political candidate. End Citizens has been on the forefront in agitating for accountability in the political world. The group wants to eliminate considerable budgets in the political space by pushing for reforms on election finance laws. End Citizens is fronting an amendment bill to the Congress so that it can protect the interest of the citizens of the United States. End Citizens has played an integral role as far as the democracy of the US is concerned. The organization helps raise and manage funds for various candidates during electioneering periods in the United States. End Citizens was founded in 2015, and its first major operation was during the 2016 general election. During that time, it managed to secure over $25 million in funding.

Some of the political candidates who’ve once been endorsed by End Citizens include Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Warren, Zephyr Teachout, Jon Ossoff among others. In the 2016 election, some of the accomplishments of the group included the election of legislators Catherine Cortez, Masto and Maggie Hassan to the senate. The organization spent well over $4.4 million to get the two senators to the office. In mid-2017, the group reported that it had secured gifts to a tune of $7.5 million through donor funding and had projected to raise an additional $35 million by the end of the financial year 2018.

Recently, Tiffany Muller who serves as ECU’s president gave a presser about the Improved Republican Tax Bill. This law is in line with the Johnson Amendment’s regulation. The Johnson Amendment has played a significant role in streamlining donations in the political space. It has stopped donors from bankrolling political campaigns through institutions such as churches and charities.

According to Muller, for a long time, major political donors and their affiliates have watered down the role of non-profit groups and churches. They’ve used these organizations to advance their political interests which is against the purpose of such institutions. Politicians have been using churches and charities as conduits for campaign capital denying the state millions of dollars in tax.

Churches and charities play a significant role in the society. When the operations of such institutions are mixed up with political interests, the impact of such organizations is severely undermined. Under Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Tax Code, the role of churches and non-profit organizations in the political landscape is outlined. These institutions are not allowed to pledge their support or endorsement to political aspirants.